The Fall of a Tyrant King
by Sedor
Summary: Ichigo has prevailed over every foe that has threatened to destroy the world, but were they truly the greater threat? Confronted by the Soul King and forced to swallow a terrible truth, Ichigo is thrust back in time, his life ripped from him as he is forced to watch time repeat itself once again. Or he'll hear about it at least...


**The Fall of a Tyrant King**

Hey guys and girls. Yes I have been away for an exceptionally long time and for that I do apologise. Work continues to keep me busy and a recent slump in my enthusiasm has meant that I simply didn't want to write anything at all. Though I have to say I never really strayed away from as I spotted several promising new authors, as well as enjoyed a few old favourites making a comeback.

Initially what I have for you was supposed to come out as a birthday fic for Ichigo, sadly that didn't happen due to several unfortunate events. Anyway, here's my latest piece and an attempt to find that old spark that inspired me to start writing back in March 2012.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

"Normal speech"

'_Inner speech/thoughts'_

"_Kido/Zanpakuto Attacks/Quincy Techniques"_

"**Zanpakuto speech"**

"_**Hollow speech"**_

XXX

**Chapter 1:**

It was a demoralising sight to any that looked out over the Soul Society that day. Countless bodies of both Soul Reapers and Quincy lay scattered about the splintered ruins of the combined landscape of the Seireitei and the Vandenreich's headquarters, whilst anguished cries of both races cried out for aid. Standing atop a raised outcrop of stone that was once the Shrine of Penitence, Ichigo Kurosaki stood over the remains of his fallen foe, the Emperor of the Vandenreich, Juhabach. The teenager had seen better days, considering that his shihakusho was ripped to near oblivion, exposing numerous cuts to his person. Doubling over as he was wracked by a vicious cough, he ripped off the top of his shihakusho, pressing it to the puncture wound to his abdomen, courtesy of one of his foe's holy arrows.

In contrast though, he was fairly well off since he could still breathe a feat that the ashes of the Emperor could not attest to. Watching as they were blown away in a gust of wind, Ichigo couldn't help but see the irony that two of the strongest beings ever to walk the face of the Earth were both reduced to nothing but dust in their defeat, one by the hand of the other and one by his own hand. Gingerly sitting down, content to wait for the relief squad that he felt approaching him, he gazed down at the ruins of the Seireitei, bile rising up in his throat at the sheer loss of life spread out around him.

Great, or minor, none were spared on either side as the war turned bloody. Gone were the days when Ukitake and his kind demeanour were a constant in the Soul Society, never again would one quake in the wake of Unohana's smile, nor sweat in fear of Yamamoto's Ryujin Jakka.

Spotting a hint of movement below him, he spied one of his long-time rivals and fellow classmates, Uryu Ishida being carried away on a stretcher, under the watchful eye of the Sixth Squad Lieutenant, Renji Abarai. Scowling as the group trooped away, Ichigo recalled how his friend willingly turned his back on them, all in his misguided attempt at bringing his mother's killer to justice. Ironic how similar he was to the former Captain of the Third Squad Gin Ichimaru, despite how much the former loathed the latter.

Hacking up a globule of blood, Ichigo cursed and scanned his surroundings, wondering if it would be quicker to just flash step to the Fourth Division, rather than wait for their relief team to make it to his perch. _'I'd be better off going there myself, after all…they're needed elsewhere,' _he thought bitterly, glancing in the direction where he felt Rukia's waning reiatsu. He refused to believe that she wouldn't pull through, even if they had to go through the hell that was Tenjiro's healing method again. Before he could head off though, he was assaulted by a blinding light, its brilliance causing him to wince as he narrowed his eyes and stared back at the latest arrival.

"And once again you prove beyond all doubt that you are capable of miracles Kurosaki-san," a soft melodic voice chimed as a figure was seen through the brilliant haze. "Perhaps that should be your new nickname once you've been inducted as one of my new vassals, Kurosaki the Miracle Worker." Struggling through the light, Ichigo was finally given a reprieve as it lost some of its brilliance, becoming far less taxing on his eyes. Recognising the figure before him, Ichigo's voice died in his throat as he took in the person's slicked back black hair and pitch black eyes.

"Y-you're the Soul King," he sputtered out, struggling to his feet as he was faced with the monarch of Soul Society.

"I'm glad that you remember me Ichigo, despite the fact that we only had a fleeting glimpse of one another," the Soul King responded, closing the distance between them, until he hovered scant feet away from the substitute soul reaper.

Fighting off his surprise at his appearance, Ichigo's mind flashed back to what he had said when he arrived. "What do you mean when you say you want to induct me as one of your vassals? Aren't the members of the Royal Guard only those that have accomplished something worth having them remembered for in Soul Society?" he queried, an odd feeling of foreboding sliding down his spine as the King chuckled.

"No Kurosaki-san you would not become one of the Royal Guard. The Royal Guard and the Gotei 13 will be finished soon and the only survivors left in this world will be those of the Royal Family."

Shock and horror ripped through Ichigo's system as he heard those words, his expression mirroring how he felt as his mouth worked soundlessly. "B-But we've defeated the Vandenreich, the Quincies are finished! How could you say that we're done for?!"

"Calm yourself Kurosaki and look around," the King chided him, gesturing with his hand to the ruined landscape around him. "Both the Soul Reapers and the Quincies have massacred one another to the point where neither side truly exists. Who then will protect the souls of the Living and the Dead from Hollows if not them?"

"But both sides aren't finished yet, there's still Ikkaku, Renji, Byakuya, Rukia and countless others…we can still protect…" Ichigo tried to say; only to be fall silent as the King silenced him with a gesture.

"Do you honestly believe that Kurosaki? The Soul Reapers and Quincy numbered in the thousands, now no more than a few dozen remain…they will not be enough to stop the slaughter of millions as the Hollows feast on the powerless, let alone will they be able to defend themselves when the newly empowered Hollows decide to satiate their appetites with their souls. This world is finished…"

"…I…Y-you…how can you stand there and be so calm about this!" Ichigo screamed at him, surprising the King at his outburst. "We've fought…bled…put our lives on the line to protect you! Why couldn't you have stepped in to help us?! Why can't you fix this now or at least aid us?!"

"Kurosaki…Ichigo…why would I favour one of my creations over the other? In fact, why would I stop one from carrying out the purpose I gave it to begin with?" the King asked, causing Ichigo to stumble in surprise.

"Their…purpose?" Ichigo asked, receiving a nod in response.

"Why yes, both the Soul Reapers and Quincy are essentially a creation of mine. Complete opposites, designed to conflict with one another and in turn, eradicate one another."

"B-But why?!"

"Do you honestly believe that this is how the world has always been Kurosaki? This is but the end of a cycle, one that has been repeated countless times in the past." Seeing Ichigo's jaw hanging wide open, the King continued nonchalantly, his entire bearing showing that he did not give the subject nearly as much as importance as Ichigo. "Humanity has come to this point several times before Kurosaki. Sometimes they manage to ascend to the stars and travel the cosmos, others they barely escape the Dark Ages. But each and every time, there has been someone like the Soul Reapers there to guide and protect them in the afterlife. And just like they did here, there is someone like the Quincies, ready to burn the world to the ground in one devastating war."

"You planned for this…all of it?!" Ichigo yelled, his hands balling into fists at his side, his knuckles white as they shook in rage.

"It is a fact of life that my creations grow too…prideful of themselves Kurosaki and so I am forced to wipe them out and start over again. If I did not, just as you have seen twice in your lifetime, they will rise up and seek to usurp my throne. But no matter how hard they try, I am always one step ahead of them…"

Unbidden memories of Aizen's last words before he was sealed away by Kisuke sprang to his mind, the twisted traitor screaming at how Kisuke could serve such a 'thing', knowing what he did. But surely he wouldn't follow through with it if he knew this, if he knew how little their lives meant to the being they considered crucial to their livelihoods. "Kurosaki…Kurosaki…Ichigo," hearing his name broke him out of his daze as he turned back to the King to see that he had been trying to get his attention.

"Come now Kurosaki, I wish to be back in the Royal Dimension soon so that I might watch the coming apocalypse. I have already expelled those I found unworthy of carrying on into the next life. You alone shall join me and live through it." Expecting Ichigo to calmly accept and join him, the King turned and began to hover away, failing to register the now violent shaking of Ichigo's limbs.

"No…" he heard whispered from Ichigo's lips with such venom and malice that he turned back, an eyebrow raised in query.

"Excuse me? I'm sorry, but 'no' what Kurosaki?"

"No…I won't be joining you King…" Ichigo spat at him, before turning on his heel and vanishing with a whisper, heading towards the senkaimon to the World of the Living. It took but a moment for his words to register in the King's mind and yet another moment, before he vanished with a flare of light and reappeared next to Ichigo, effortlessly keeping pace with him.

"I don't think you truly understand what is about to happen Kurosaki. This world is ending and I will have you join me in the Royal Dimension as my newest…"

"Shut up about that!" Ichigo yelled at him, not breaking in his stride as he glared at the ruler of the afterlife. "I heard your fucking offer and I reject it. I'm going back to Karakura Town to protect my family and I'll be damned if I just up and left with you! You're lucky I'm not trying to follow through in Aizen's footsteps and try to kill you myself!" Pushing even more energy into his feet, he shot forward with a resounding boom, the shockwave tearing through the air around him as a result. As the gate came into sight, he yelped as he was suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Struggling for all he was worth, he stopped struggling as he heard the King's voice once again, his tone cold and laced with fury.

"Who said that you have a choice…" he muttered darkly, dragging Ichigo towards him until they were mere inches apart. Flaring his reiatsu around him and struggling to draw his zanpakutos at his waist, Ichigo gasped at the sudden force that squeezed him, hearing his bones begin to creak as they threatened to snap. "Don't think for one second that you could hope to match my power boy!" the King hissed at him, spittle flying from his mouth as his facial expression morphed from indifference to scorn. "Even if you were fully rested and healed, you are nothing but an ant beneath my heel. With but a thought I could crush you into dust! I do not deal in choices, but in absolutes! Now tell me, will you be joining me in the Royal Dimension?!" he thundered, his grip on Ichigo tightening with each passing second.

"I…I'd rather die with my family…than spend another second…with you," Ichigo gasped out, crying out in pain as he felt the bones in his arms break.

"You wish to spend your last moments with your family…then so be it! You will die with your family Kurosaki and I will be there to laugh as it is all torn from you!" the King shouted at him, just as his entire world was covered in darkness.

XXX

"Ichigo!" he heard a feminine voice shriek, waking him from his involuntary slumber. Cracking his eyes open a fraction, he gasped as he found himself on the bank of a river, his body temperature dropping for a completely different reason other than the rain's icy assault. Ignoring the chill setting into his bones, he watched as his mother and Grand Fisher fought, the younger version of himself lying unconscious a few feet away.

Whilst his father had told him that his mother was a Quincy and a remarkably strong one, he couldn't help but be enthralled as he witnessed a side of her that he had never seen before. Attuned to how actual killing intent felt after countless battles, to feel such a feeling from a woman who had only ever shown love and compassion to others left him feeling like his feet had been pulled out from him.

"Touching isn't it?" a familiar voice spoke, breaking him out of his reverie as he turned to face them.

"What have you done?!" Ichigo demanded of the Soul King, his glare enough to cause an ordinary person to quail in fear.

"I have granted you your wish Kurosaki…to be reunited with your family. I merely set the exact terms myself." Hearing a cry of anguish, the two of them turned back to the battle, a sinking feeling setting into Ichigo's stomach as he felt his mother's reiatsu fluctuate and begin to diminish rapidly, just as Grand Fisher launched one of his fur tendrils at his unmoving counterpart. "Ah it seems that Juhabach is beginning to initiate Auswahlen, what will you do now Kurosaki?"

Feeling the King's hold on him dissipate, Ichigo sprang into action without a hint of hesitation, his broken bones flaring in pain as he pushed them further in his injured state, just as his mother pushed what little reiatsu she had left into her feet.

Inwardly cursing at his unresponsive arms, Ichigo slammed into the spear of fur, diverting it from its course of his mother's torso, just as she pushed his younger body out of its original path. To both their dismay though, it went on to strike the defenceless child clean across his face, bathing his visage in blood. Almost immediately as the spear struck, Ichigo cried out in agony, his screams drowning out both his mother's and his younger version's cries, as his eyes flared in searing pain, a warm liquid running down his cheeks as he flailed about.

Paying no attention to the now unfinished battle in front of him, Ichigo stiffened as he felt the King's power hold him in place once again, his hands shaking vigorously as he tried to feel for the damage to his eyes.

"You've changed your destiny Kurosaki," the King stated as with a simple thought he forced Grand Fisher away for the moment, his role completely changed in the now altered timeline. "What use are you blind to Aizen's plans; to Juhabach's?" the King continued to taunt him, just as Isshin, Kisuke and Yoruichi in her feline form arrived on the scene. Freezing time for a moment, he suspended Ichigo over his child-like body and proceeded to merge the two souls together. Staring at Masaki's shallow breathing and determining that she would not live for much longer, he sighed and reinforced her waning life-force, altering it to that of a regular human's rather than that of a Quincy.

"I offer you this one mercy Kurosaki, for your punishment for denying me is nowhere near complete. Hear me well Kurosaki for I will not repeat myself. You will be forced to live a stranger's life amongst your family and friends, never to see them again or spend cherished moments with your former loved ones ever again." Holding his hand out over Ichigo's torso, a pure white substance began to emerge from his chest, coalescing into a ball in his palm. Releasing his hold on the flow of time, the King watched as the three began to tend to the injured parties in front of them; before vanishing in a blinding flash of light and reappearing within the Kurosaki home and the room of Ichigo's twin sisters. Sweeping his gaze between the two, the King pondered for a moment or two, before hovering over to one of the sleeping girls. "Let us see now whether she has the strength needed to walk your path and fulfil your former destiny."

XXX

When Masaki Kurosaki woke that evening, she was overcome by an immense sense of exhaustion, her muscles crying out as they felt stretched to breaking point. Looking up at the unfamiliar sight of a stark white ceiling, she felt a momentary sense of confusion, before the events of the afternoon replayed in her head, causing her to bolt upright with a strangled gasp. Feeling a pair of hands force her back down with ease, she glanced to her side to see Isshin's tear-stained face staring back at her with a mixture of relief and worry.

"Masaki-chan," he choked out, wrapping his arms around her as he pulled her into a hug. "I…I thought I lost you." Hearing his tone laced with worry, she raised one tired arm and curled it around his own, silently thanking him for his support. Looking around her, she found herself in a large room, a monitor next to her bed showing her heart rate and blood pressure, along with an IV attached to her left hand. She must have been in the hospital Ryuken worked at since Isshin's clinic had nowhere near enough space to house all this. All too soon though, her motherly instinct's brought her mind back to her most pressing concern…her son's fate.

"Isshin…where is…Ichigo?" she whispered, her voice weak as she struggled to speak. Feeling his body tense slightly, she forced him back lightly, looking up into his eyes to confirm that her worst fears hadn't come true.

"He…he's been in surgery for the last few hours," he explained sombrely. "Ryuken himself is overseeing the procedure, but they aren't sure about the extent of his injuries." Watching his words sink in, Isshin stumbled as Masaki fell back onto her bed, sobbing uncontrollably as she thought of the fate that had befallen her baby.

Hearing the door creak open, the two of them craned their neck to see who had entered, their eyes widening as Ryuken, along with several nurses wheeled in another bed into their room, their son's prone form lying under the blankets, his eyes obscured under several layers of bandages.

"Ichigo…" Masaki murmured, reaching out with her arm to her son, desperate for some sort of contact. Seeing her struggle, Ryuken murmured softly to their attendants and the bed was wheeled close enough for her fingers to make contact with his small hand.

Isshin though, only had eyes for his colleague, his eyes taking in every single detail on the stoic surgeons face.

"Masaki, about your son…" he began, drawing her attention away from Ichigo for the moment. 'We managed to reconstruct the area around the bridge of his nose, but the damage to his optic nerve was too severe for our specialist to do anything with. I'm sorry to inform you, but it seems like Ichigo may be permanently blind…"

XXX

And I think we'll leave it here for now.

I know a lot of you believe that the Soul King isn't as much of a tyrant as I portray him, but the pessimist in me kind of thinks that he rarely does care little for the goings on in the world. Like it or love it, I kind of like the idea of him being an arrogant, self-serving bastard that looks down on his subjects as playthings. It almost makes sense as to why Aizen wanted to dethrone him, no matter the cost.

Anyway please let me know what you think. As I say this was a piece to actually get me writing something again and I personally find it easier to breathe life into something new, than jumping straight into resurrecting something.

Till next time, boys and girls, read and enjoy.


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